THE 2021 rugby league season was certainly a mixed bag as COVID-19 once again had an impact on how the year unfolded.
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The Mid West League was able to reach a conclusion, but Group 10 juniors and seniors had their seasons abandoned before premierships could be decided.
Throw into that mix representative success stories, a touch of NRL and the confirmation of a new Western Premiership, plenty went down in 2021.
Here's an A-Z look of how it played out for Bathurst's league talents.
A IS FOR ANZAC
BATHURST Panthers made it five consecutive victories in the ANZAC Day Memorial Trophy against St Pat's as they posted their biggest ever winning margin in the annual fixture.
Thanks to a blistering nine-minute period in which they scored 20 points, Panthers posted 26-6 win under lights at Jack Arrow Oval.
In a match which also acted as the Group 10 season opener, Josh Rivett, Abel Lefaoseu, Desi Doolan, Keelan Bresac and Malik Blenman all scored for Panthers, while Pat's sole try came via Lee McClintock.
"The longer we can keep it off them the better," Panthers captain-coach Doug Hewitt said after his side extended an ANZAC streak which began in 2016.
"It's a trophy that means so much to a lot of people, it's always a good game, it's played in the right spirit and tonight is another night it's come home with us."
B IS FOR BETTS
HE was named as Group 10's starting lock, but it was Jake Betts' performance at hooker that earned him man-of-the-match honours in the clash against Group 11.
Betts was forced into the hooking role after fellow Bathurst Panther Nick Loader went down with an ankle injury in the fourth minute of the representative clash.
He got through a mountain of work in defence in a game Group 10 won 20-6 to claim the best on ground honours.
"I played a lot of it back in juniors but I haven't played there for awhile, it's tough in the middle," Betts said.
C IS FOR CSU
SEASON 2021 will go down as one of the best in the history of the CSU Mungoes Rugby League Club's time in the Mid West League.
The Mungoes men's tackle side and Mungals league tag outfits both finished the regular season as minor premiers then both won their major semi-finals.
It earned CSU hosting rights for grand final day and four weeks later at Diggings Oval after COVID-19 forced a delay, the students iced a huge season as both the Mungals and Mungoes won their deciders.
For the Mungals, who beat Orange United 34-0 in the grand final, it marked an undefeated campaign and their seventh consecutive Mid West tag premiership.
"It's amazing, it feels so good," Mungals skipper Georgia Woodhouse, who scored a double in the win, said.
D IS FOR DROUGHT-BREAKER
IT was a win six years in the making - for the first time since July 5, 2015, St Pat's tasted success against Bathurst Panthers in a Group 10 premier league derby.
The drought-breaking victory, which snapped a 10-game derby losing streak, came on July 3 as the Saints held on to beat Panthers 16-14 at Carrington Park.
Tye Siaskisoni, Joey Coughlan and Mitch Squires all scored for the Saints, but the blue and white's defence was the key to victory.
"That felt like a grand final out there, there was a real buzz, you could feel the crowd was into it, both teams were into it, the intensity was unbelievable, it was a real local derby feel," St Pat's captain-coach Zac Merritt enthused.
"Our defence, it's something we have been building on."
E IS FOR EXTRA-TIME
GRAND finals are often referred to as thrillers and when it came to the 2021 Mid West League Cup decider, thriller was a fitting way to describe it as CSU snatched victory in extra-time.
The Mungoes came from a 12-point deficit to post a 24-16 win over the Orange United Warriors, sending their supporters into raptures at Diggings Oval.
It took a Brayden Wicks penalty goal after the siren to lock it up at 16-all and force extra-time, then in the additional five minutes each way CSU crossed twice via Lachie Balcombe and Blake Schaefer.
"That feeling when I knew it was ours, I couldn't explain it, it was just unbelievable," CSU captain-coach Callum Flanagan said.
"I'm incredibly proud of my men, they just played amazing.
"To be honest I was nervous, but I never thought it was gone, I knew my boys would hold in. It's just amazing."
F IS FOR FLANAGAN
CALLUM Flanagan is not sure if season 2021 will be his last with CSU, but if it does end up being his farewell campaign it was certainly fitting.
After falling one win short of glory in 2020, Flanagan returned as captain-coach this season and also took on the presidency of CSU.
It would've been hard for him to image anything better than what unfolded - he led the CSU Mungoes to victory on grand final day in an extra-time thriller in front of a home crowd, he was named the Mid West League player of the year and leading try scorer and the Mungals league tag side finished 2021 undefeated.
G IS FOR GROUP 10
A REPRESENTATIVE clean sweep - that is what Group 10 pulled off when hosting Group 11 in this year's battle for Western region bragging rights.
While Group 10 was only favourites for the league tag clash at Lithgow - favouritism they lived up to - both the under 18s and and opens found success against Group 11 as well.
The open side which beat Group 11 to the tune 20-6 thanks to a brilliant defensive effort featured Bathurst Panthers talents Desi Doolan, Jeremy Gordon, Keelan Bresac, Jed and Jake Betts, Nick Loader and Dave Sellers, while St Pat's Tyler Colley lined up at halfback.
The under 18s posted a 42-10 win as they downed Group 11 for the first time since 2018, that team including Panthers duo Jackson Carter and John Mackay as well at St Pat's Manny Tobin.
It was St Pat's Mish Somers who skippered the league tag outfit to a 44-4 triumph over Group 11, with club-mates Meredith Jones, Hannah Kelly, Paige Hay, Erin Naden and Bronte Emmanuel.
H IS FOR HOTHAM
JESS Hotham has long been involved with the Bathurst Panthers, but season 2021 was arguably her busiest yet.
She not only captained-coached the open league tag side, but coached the under 18s and under 11s as well.
The under 11s scrapped into the Group 10 Junior Rugby League finals in fifth place and in the semi-final they played before the season was abandoned, could not have impressed their coach more.
They beat Orange CYMS White in what Hotham labelled "the game of their lives."
"They just played their little bums off and the way they cheered at the end, they were so excited. The joy that they got out of it was just so good," she said.
I IS FOR INSPIRATIONAL
NIC Barlow is a player who knows how to inspire his team-mates in big games.
He was named best on ground when St Pat's won the 2019 under 18s grand final and this year when the blue and whites claimed the inaugural Western under 21s crown, Barlow was again man of the match.
In what was a brutally physical final against Group 11's Dubbo CYMS, Barlow made plenty of hard yards for the Saints and also inspired his team-mates with his aggression in defence.
"It was an awesome feeling to win, the boys have ripped in all season. We spoke about how it's the first ever comp and we wanted to be the first ones to win it," the second-rower said.
"It was tough. City boys say that bush footy is not real physical, but that just showed tonight how physical it can be."
J IS FOR JUMPERS
THEY are normally the men in black, but for one day in season 2021 the Bathurst Panthers turned blue.
The Panthers wore special Molong Bulls tribute jumpers in their clash with Orange Hawks in June as a way to pay tribute to a well loved member of the club's community.
David Barrow, father of former Panthers coach Todd and 2018 premiership winning backs Jye and Kade, passed away suddenly at the end of last year.
"When Dave passed away, we sort of came together as a club and wanted to recognise the Barrow family because they've been a part of the family," Panthers forward Jake Betts said.
"Todd was captain-coach and the boys [Jye and Kade] won a premiership with us in 2018. We just wanted to do something to recognise their contribution and remember Dave.
"Dave was always at the games when his kids were playing. Dave and Jenny were big supporters of the club and not just us, but Orange Hawks as well. That's why we planned to do this against Hawks because the family has an affiliation with both clubs."
K IS FOR KENNEDY
HE began the year with a battle on his hands for Cronulla's number one jumper and Will Kennedy not only made the fullback role his own, but did so in style.
In what was just his second full season of NRL, Kennedy was named Cronulla's members' player of the year, got the nod for the Tommy Bishop player's player honour and picked up the Porter-Gallen Medal as the Sharks' player of the year.
Not surprisingly, he was also offered a two-year contract extension.
"I'm happy with the season I had, it was very surprising to get a few awards, I thought I might get one, so to get a few was very pleasing," the 24-year-old said.
"To get the fan favourite was pretty good and the players' player and to get the Porter-Gallen, that was pretty surprising."
Kennedy scored 14 tries and led the Sharks in both try assists (15) and line breaks (14) as his speed and improved passing game saw him become a lynchpin of his side's attack.
L IS FOR LILY
TALK about going out with a bang - Lilly Phillips' last game with the CSU Mungals is one she won't forget for a long time.
Phillips' last game came on grand final day and she was instrumental in seeing the Mungals post a 34-0 win over Orange United.
She scored a pair of tries, had two additional line breaks to her credit, at one stage pulled off a charge down and was named best on field as the Mungals iced an undefeated season.
"We just munged up and we got it. Three premierships in a row, I couldn't be happier, best club in the world," Phillips, who joined the club in 2019, said.
"It was good to finish off like that. I've played the last three years in a row for the Mungals and this is my last year. It was awesome, I couldn't have had a better year with the girls."
M IS FOR MINOR PREMIERS
NO Group 10 senior or junior competitions reached a conclusion this season, with COVID-19 forcing play to be abandoned.
But minor premierships were still decided and amongst them were a pair of Bathurst teams.
In the senior ranks it was the St Pat's league tag outfit which locked in yet another minor premiership, going undefeated through the regular home and away season.
As for the juniors, it was the under 16 Bathurst Panthers who managed to finish as minor premiers. They lost just two of 12 games and they boasted the best attacking record of the six teams in their division.
"Like our team has been successful year after year after year, but this year has just been outstanding," coach Shane Hastings said.
"These boys really give it 110 percent every training session. I've got a squad of 26 boys and they turned up every single week, they never let me down, they were there every single week. The Blayney boys travelled over, the Cowra boy travelled over, they didn't miss a beat."
They joined Mid West League sides the CSU Mungoes and Mungals in finishing the regular season on top of the ladder.
N IS FOR NRL
CARRINGTON Park once again became the venue of a Penrith Panthers NRL success in 2021 as Ivan Cleary's men bettered the Manly Sea Eagles 28-16 in May.
While the Panthers had lost two games in a row at Bathurst before lining up against Manly, this year the legion of Penrith fans who attended weren't disappointed.
Cleary enjoyed it too and said he feels the atmosphere at Bathurst is becoming better and better with each Panthers game that comes to Carrington Park.
"We consider Bathurst and the Central West to be part of our community now. It's great to see so many Panthers fans. The feel around here now is that it's becoming Panthers territory," he said.
O IS FOR ORIGIN
THEY played in the inaugural edition of New South Wales Police Rugby League City versus Country Origin match and it was only the COVID-19 pandemic which prevented Marita Shoulders and Sarah Archer from another origin first as well.
The Bathurst officers impressed so much for the Country side which beat City 8-6, they were picked in the NSW side which was to square off against their Queensland counterparts in the first women's police State of Origin clash.
Though that game didn't go ahead, Archer was still proud to have played a starring role in helping Country beat City.
The talented lock was amongst the try scorers for Country.
"It was just a quick play the ball. Our fullback did a run through the players, I hit the hole, got through a couple of their players and scored," Archer said.
"It was pretty special to win that first match, it will only ever happen once and we'll get our name on the plaque."
P IS FOR POWER
MATILDA Power will certainly remember season 2021 for having to deal with serious injuries, but when the former Bathurst Panther did get onto the field she was super impressive.
Her season began as she worked her way back from a meniscus injury - just one of a string of issues in recent years.
Playing in the NSWRL Women's Premiership for Mounties Rugby League Club, the five-eighth did enough to earn herself selection in the NSW Country side.
"I certainly wasn't expecting this selection, to be honest. It was the last thing on my mind," she said.
"I've had two knee reconstructions and have only had the one full season over four years of injuries.
"That was an unreal experience. I only ended up playing 15 minutes at the end and I went on as hooker, which is not usually my spot, but it was great to get on the field.
"I did the best that I could out there and it was great experience. Being coached and mentored by Ruan Sims and Kezie Apps had me a bit star struck to be honest."
After that match she continued her hot form for Mounties, but with two rounds of the regular season left she broke her collarbone and required surgery.
She was hoping to be back for the grand final, but the COVID-19 situation in NSW saw it abandoned.
Q IS FOR QUEST
WINNING their home knockout - it was a huge pre-season goal for Bathurst Panthers this season and in the end their quest proved successful.
Led by standout performances from Nick Loader, Keelan Bresac and Jake Betts, the Panthers posted a dominant 24-4 win over Orange CYMS in the knockout final at Carrington Park.
Panthers won three consecutive knockouts between 2016-18, but the next two years were eliminated by Lithgow Workies and Orange CYMS respectively.
That made them hungry to hit back in 2021 and that determination was key in winning the final.
"What won us the game was that we kept coming. We didn't really score a lot of points at the start, but that's where we broke their backs. Credit goes to CYMS because they kept coming and turning up. They're a great side," Betts said.
R IS FOR REFEREE
AMY Draper made history in June when she became the first female to referee a Group 10 premier league game.
The 23-year-old, who was recruited to Group 10 from the ranks of Bathurst Touch Football officials, was given the job in the middle as St Pat's hosted Orange CYMS at Jack Arrow Oval.
She admits she felt nervous to start, but enjoyed the experience and respect shown to her by the players.
"They were great, they tried to keep correcting, every time they said sir they were like 'Sorry, miss'. But they were really respectful, they were fantastic, I couldn't have asked for a better two teams to have in my debut game, they were amazing," Draper said.
"It was so good to do on a home ground too."
S IS FOR STREAK
THEY did not get the chance to add to their Group 10 league tag premiership streak this season, but St Pat's still built on another impressive streak.
Before the season was abandoned, the Saints took their tally of consecutive wins in Group 10 to 50 games.
Twelve of those victories came this season, with the unprecedented winning streak dating back to the 2017 preliminary final.
Win number 50 was a 22-4 result against the Cowra Magpies.
"It's a massive achievement and a lot of the girls have been together over all of those 50 games," Saints skipper Mish Somers said.
"We haven't had to rebuild at any point. We've had a core group year in and year out. This year was probably the one with the most changes that we've had to make, with a couple of uni girls coming in, but they've all played the game before.
"We've never had to rehash things too much and there's a lot of very talented girls in this side."
T IS FOR TYLER
HIS season began training with the Cronulla Sharks' SG Ball squad and before it was done, Tyler Colley had proved himself in his maiden Group 10 premier league campaign as well.
The young halfback, who was part of the successful St Pat's under 21s squad, stepped up the the ranks of premier league for the first time in 2021.
Plenty of pressure rested on his shoulders as he had to steer around older, more experienced Saints, but it was a job Colley more than handled.
It earned him a Group 10 jumper and while facing Group 11 was another step up, the 18-year-old handled that as well. He was amongst the try scorers.
"It was alright I had good blokes inside and on the outside of me and that made my job easier," Colley said of the experience.
U IS FOR UNDER 21S
THEY were the underdogs heading into final of the inaugural Western under 21s competition, but when the full-time whistle sounded it was the Saints who were celebrating.
St Pat's upset the previously undefeated Dubbo CYMS with a 20-16 win, centre Sione Naufahu scoring with just under six minutes remaining to seal victory.
Saints coach Tyson Medlyn said the hard-fought win over a quality CYMS side was a reward for the work his squad had put into the competition.
It featured five rounds and a four-team finals series.
"I've seen these boys put in every day, they've been leading and they've been great role models for our younger boys coming through," Medlyn said.
"So to see these boys get rewarded after about four-five months of hard work - I can't even say how good that is."
V IS FOR VAULABLE
ACROSS the entire Western region the amount of talented under 21 players is immense, but in 2021 it was a pair of Saints who can lay claim to being the finest.
Lock Aaron Mawhinney and halfback Cooper Neilsen were named joint winners of the player of the inaugural Western under 21s competition.
With Neilsen acting as captain of the under 21 Saints and Mawhinney his deputy, they guided the blue and whites to victory in the new competition, upsetting Dubbo CYMS in the decider.
"It was unreal - to be able to skipper the boys was like the best experience ever. To win the player of the year with my best mate Aaron was so good and then to top it off with a grand final win, even better," Neilsen, who scored in the final, said.
W IS FOR WESTERN
IT had long been speculated, but it was confirmed in 2021 that a new Western Conference competition would be formed for season 2022.
The change, effectively dissolving both Group 10 and Group 11 at a senior level, will see a new two-tier system put in place which operates on a promotion-relegation system.
The top tier will be the Western Premiership and second tier the Western Championship.
"I think for the long-term, this is something that has to be done," Group 10 chairman Linore Zamparini said.
X IS FOR X-FACTOR
NAILING a pressure penalty goal kick after the siren to force the Mid West League grand final into extra-time - it's that effort which sees Brayden Wicks earn a spot in the A-Z as Mr X-factor.
Wicks had already come up with some big plays for CSU in the grand final against Orange United before that moment.
His 40-20 kick in the final quarter was the catalyst for a Mick Latu try which at that stage made it 12-all.
Despite the huge amount of pressure for him to slot that penalty kick, Wicks calmly had a drink of water as he lined up the shot from around 25 metres out and to the right of the sticks. He nailed it.
"There was a fair bit going through the head, I don't know what the boys were thinking, but I was pretty confident so I just put all the nerves aside and I just went for it," Wicks said.
"As soon as it came off the boot it went straight over, it didn't move."
Y IS FOR YOUNG GUNS
IT was a big year for Bathurst's Group 10 Junior Rugby League clubs as Panthers, St Pat's and Eglinton all had a presence in the finals series.
Though only one week of finals was contested across the tackle and league tag competitions before the season was abandoned, the efforts of the three clubs were still impressive.
Bathurst Panthers had seven of their eight competitive teams qualify for finals. The under 11, under 13 and 16 league tag teams all advanced, as did the under 11, 12, 13 and 16 tackle teams.
The Saints had both the under 16s and under 13s qualify for league tag finals while in the tackle competition, the under 12 Pat's Blue, under 14s, 15s and 16s all saw semi-final action.
As for Eglinton the oldest age group at the club, the under 11s, managed to scrape into the finals as they improved over the course of the season.
Z IS FOR ZAC
WHEN CSU were behind on the scoreboard and in desperate need of some inspiration in the Mid West League grand final, Zac Hunt was the man who provided.
The second rower sparked a comeback that saw his side go from 12-0 down against Orange United to 26-14 victors. It was an effort which saw him named man of the match.
The most telling moment came when he broke three tackles on a 30-metre charge to the try line.
"It pretty much came from nothing. I looked up and saw big boys and thought 'I'm not running at them' so I tried to swerve," Hunt said of his four-pointer.
"I thought it would come to nothing, but I just beat that centre and I got away and got over that try line."
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